§ Mr. CLOUGHasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that whilst recruiting for the Regulars for the whole of Ireland has fallen from 62 per 100,000 in 1909 to 60 per 100,000 in 1913, in the province of Ulster it has fallen from 54 per 100,000 in 1909 to as low as 38 per 100,000 in 1913, and in the province of Leinster it has risen from 88 per 100,000 in 1909 to 100 per 100,000 in 1913; and whether the recruiting classes in the loyal province of Ulster are flocking more and more to the colours of some provisional or other alien Government?
§ Mr. TENNANTAlthough my hon. Friend appears to have taken the whole population, female as well as male, as the recruitable population, his percentages are, I find, substantially correct. In reply to the last part of the question, there are many obscure causes which affect recruiting, and it is not always possible to identify with certainty the precise cause of any particular upward or downward movement.